The instant invention relates to safety apparatus and more particularly to a reversible glove constuction which can be effectively embodied as a safety glove of the type used by meat cutters.
It has been found that it can be highly desirable for persons involved in meat cutting operations to wear protective gloves in order to avoid being inadvertently cut by knives or other sharp instruments which are used to cut meats. In this connection, gloves made of flexible open wire mesh materials have been heretofore available for a number of years and have been found to be effective for preventing most wounds which are caused by inadvertent contact with various blades, knives, and sharp instruments. In most cases, however, it has only been necessary for a meat cutter to wear a glove of this type on one hand, since the other hand has normally been used for holding the knife or other instrument which is used during the meat cutting operation, and therefore the other hand has been less likely to be wounded. However, one of the drawbacks of most of the heretofore available protective gloves of this type has been that they have not been reversible, and hence it has been necessary for them to be made in different right- and left-handed embodiments for use by left- and right-handed meat cutters, respectively. As a reult, most of, the heretofore available gloves have not been universally adaptable for use by all meat cutters, and since gloves of this type have generally been relatively expensive, this has been a disadvantage from both a practical standpoint and an economic standpoint.
The U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,106,708 to Hazard; 2,737,663; Harris 2,862,208Castro; 3,739,400; Colehower 4,004,295; Byrnes, Sr. 4,193,135; Rhee 4,388,733; Anstett and 4,471,495 Kruse et al disclose a variety of glove constructions which represent the closest prior art to the subject invention of which the applicant is aware. However, since these references fail to effectively solve the problem of providing a simple and effective reversible safety glove construction, they are believed to be of only general interest with respect to the subject invention.
The instant invention provides a highly effective reversible glove construction which is adapted to be embodied as a safety glove for use in protecting a hand of a meat cutter during a meat cutting operation. More specifically, the glove construction of the instant invention comprises a reversible glove portion made of a flexible sheet material and a cuff portion which is secured to the open end portion of the glove portion and includes a pair of elongated, connected, side-by-side cuff strips. The cuff portion is constructed so that it is alternatively securable in encircling relation around either wrist of a wearer, and the open end portion of the glove portion is secured to the cuff portion in the area between the elongated cuff strips. As a result, the glove is securable on either hand of a wearer in a position wherein the cuff portion is secured in encirculing relation around the adjacent wrist and wherein one of the cuff strips overlies the open end portion of the glove portion and the other cuff strip is positioned immediately beyond the open end portion of the glove portion on the adjacent wrist. In the preferred embodiment of the glove construction, the glove portion is constructed of a flexible wire mesh sheet material, and the cuff strips are constructed so that they are independently securable in encircling relation around either wrist of a wearer. Further, the glove portion is preferably formed with a longitudinally extending slit therein which extends inwardly a distance from the open end of the glove portion, and the cuff portion is preferably secured to the glove portions so that the ends of the cuff portion are positioned adjacent opposite side edges of the slit to enable the slit and the cuff portion to be opened for more easily receiving a hand in the glove portion. Still further, the glove portion and the cuff portion are preferably dimensioned so that when the glove portion is received on a hand of a wearer, the portions of the glove portion which are located adjacent the slit overlap each other to assure that the hand is completely covered and protected by the wire mesh material.
Accordingly, it is seen that the instant invention provides an effective glove construction which is adapted to be embodied as a wire mesh safety glove and which is effectively reversible to enable it to be alternatively worn on the left hand or on the right hand. Specifically, the cuff portion of the glove construction and the manner in which the glove portion is attached to the cuff portion make the glove construction readily reversible to enable it to be alternatively worn on either the left hand or the right hand.
As a result of the above, it is a primary object of the instant invention to provide an effective reversible glove construction which is adapted to be embodied as a wire mesh safety glove.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide an effective reversible glove construction having a glove portion and having a cuff portion which includes a pair of elongated side-by-side cuff strips wherein the glove portions is secured to the cuff portion between the cuff strips.
An even further object of the instant invention is to provide a reversible safety glove for meat cutters.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.